Cancer is one of the most frequent causes of death today, and the number of cancer cases in industrialized countries continuously grows. This is mainly based on the fact that malignant tumors are a disease of higher age, and due to a successful controlling of infection diseases, more people will reach this age. In spite of all progress in the diagnostic and therapeutic field, the healing chances for most frequent inner cancer types are seldom higher than 20%. A cancerous tumor nowadays can be destroyed or inhibited in its growth. A re-conversion of a tumor cell into a normal cell is, however, not yet possible. The most important therapeutic measures, the operation and the irradiation, remove cancer cells from the organism. The presently used chemotherapeutic agents of the for cancer, the cytostatics, also lead to a destruction or damaging of tumor cells only. In most cases the effect is so non-specific that simultaneous heavy damage to healthy cells will occur.
In general, tumor cells have a metabolism differing from healthy cells, in particular glycolysis. Thus, a change of the isoenzyme system involved in the glycolysis and a change of the transport of NADH is typical for tumor cells. Among other effects, the activity of the enzymes of the glycolysis is increased. This permits high reaction rates under the aerobic conditions typical for tumor cells. For details, reference is made to E. Eigenbrodt et al., Biochemical and Molecular Aspects of Selected Cancers, Vo. 2, p. 311 ff, 1994.
Various other diseases mentioned below are either characterized by an (excessive) metabolism by the glycolysis enzyme complex and can be treated by the reduction or inhibition thereof.